


Undercover

by thomasjeffersonsmacaroni



Series: The Other 51 [22]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Office, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-23 09:57:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9650627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thomasjeffersonsmacaroni/pseuds/thomasjeffersonsmacaroni
Summary: It's your typical hate-at-first-sight love story...only with a Halloween costume party at the office and just a bit of the magic of love.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Reylo fic, please be kind :) Also I'm now over the halfway mark in The Other 51!

When Rey heard her phone ring, she checked the caller ID and instantly rolled her eyes and sighed exaggeratedly. As much as she didn't want to talk to Ben Solo about the project that they were collaborating on at work, she knew that if she didn't answer the call now, she would have to eventually. And, of course, Solo wanted to do this about as much as she did.

"What do you want?" she asked, putting the phone to her ear.

"Kenobi. Did you send me the statistics?"

"Yes. I did. Check your e-mail, idiot. Did _you_ send me your work?"

"No, not yet. As soon as I get on my computer."

"Okay. Cool. Is that all?"

"Yep. Luckily."

"The feeling is mutual."

Rey brought the phone down and clicked on the big red "Hang Up" button, eyebrows furrowed in frustration. She and Solo had hated each other from the moment they had first met as cubicle neighbors - she found him too moody and lazy, he found her too boring and perfectionist - and it didn't look like it was ever going to change, even if both of them tried their hardest, which neither of them were particularly inclined to.

There was a beep. Rey's bus had arrived. She put her phone into her back pocket and boarded it.

 

Ben Solo took off his glasses and wiped them on his shirt. He knew that his eye doctor had told him not to, but he couldn't help it; it was a force of habit, and he always forgot the little glasses cloth that he had bought. And in the meantime, he thought about how if he were writing a book, that would be a perfect metaphor for his relationship with the young Rey Kenobi.

Their hate was toxic, so toxic that he winced every time he had to go to work and see her. And no matter how much he knew that, they were both so used to it that there was no way that they could break it now. He didn't know for sure all of the complexities of how she felt about him, but he knew for sure that she hadn't found herself developing some sort of hate-crush.

Ben couldn't believe it himself. But she had a small frame compared to his own, and she had a smile that was like millions of rays of sunshine, and most importantly she was smart and competent and a badass.

But something else about her was that she would never love him. They were too entangled in this web of hatred to break it that easily. Or at all.

 

Days passed and days passed, and then it was Halloween, and CEO Mr. Snoke was announcing some sort of costume contest. Holidays were, for the whole office, the one day when you could laugh at your co-workers and at yourself without being fired for "indecency" and "rudeness" due to some upstuck office worker filing a complaint.

Rey always chose a different costume; she prepared the whole year for this, room filled with sketches and pieces of fabric and multiple pairs of scissors. This year, she was a fairy, complete with sparkles and see-through wings and hair covered in flowers and, her friend Finn joked, short stature.

She was close to slapping him after that. But nonetheless, she was proud of her costume, and she walked through the doors of the office with pride.

 

Ben Solo, on the other hand was anything but prepared. He was only even doing this because his friend Armitage had forced him to, and he had quickly picked up a blonde wig, a pair of glasses, and a technician costume from Party City before boarding the bus. He wouldn't win the contest, not by any means, but at least he would get Hux off of his back.

"Oh, hello!" a voice announced happily when he walked through the doors. "I don't think I've seen you before. I'm Rey. Rey Kenobi. Are you new here or something?"

It was Rey Kenobi, his sworn enemy, wearing yet another of her skillful costumes, this time as a fairy. And she...didn't recognize him?

He didn't usually participate in the contests. Maybe that was why.

"How do you-"

He cut himself off. His decision after that was one that he made in a split second, but he could spend weeks explaining his reasoning behind it.

Their relationship was so toxic, so terrible, so awful. And now, if he did just a little bit more stretching, he could take the slate that was covered with scribbles and wipe it entirely clean. And they would start over again, not as enemies but as acquaintances, and they could bring their relationship into friendship and maybe even something more.

Or maybe not. But it was worth a try.

"I'm Matt," he said. "Matt Driver. I'm a new technician at the office. It's lovely to meet you...Rey, right?"

"Rey." She smiled and held out her hand, and Ben shook it.

"So, you're not really into that costume thing, are you?"

"Nah. My friend tried to force me, but I flat out said no. It's a little too embarrassing, especially on my first day."

"Ah. Gotcha. But we can't be friends unless you do it next time we have a costume contest. We have them _all the time_ at this office. You'll see."

Ben raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Mmm-hmm. Sorry, but I like my friends to be fun. And willing to talk costume design with me. I make these myself, you know."

Ben didn't know that. And when he complimented her and called the style impressive, he wasn't lying.

Rey smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. "Good luck, Matt. If you ever need help with anything - _anything_ \- remember I'm right here."

Maybe they could be friends after all.

 

While Rey was doing her work, Ben snuck off and took of his costume. Then, he went into Mr. Snoke's office and told him that he was quitting.

"This is so sudden," he said, peering over his glasses. "Did something happen, Mr. Solo?"

"No, nothing. I just found a higher-paying job. I will continue to support his company, but the other job opportunity that I found suits my needs much better. Thank you so much for understanding."

Mr. Snoke raised an eyebrow but then nodded. "Of course. I wish you the best of luck at your new job, and I think I speak for the whole company when I say that we're sorry to lose you."

"I'm sorry to lose you, too. Thank you so much."

"No, thank _you,_ Mr. Solo."

Now Ben had to find a new job to pay the bills. But in that moment, he didn't care about any of that. This particular Halloween would mark a new chapter in his life.

 

Any other person would call what he was doing creepy. And at first, Ben thought the same. What else would anyone call quitting your job and disguising your identity just to get close to a girl? Under any circumstance, Ben would be sure to give himself a cold, hard slap to the face.

But he wasn’t really striving to get close as in a friendship, only try and end the previously unendable hatred between them. Surely it was okay in that case.

It certainly seemed that way; every day, Ben would go to the office that he formerly called his and wander the hallways avoiding suspicion, occasionally sneaking off to Rey’s cubicle to chat, constantly reminding himself that his name was Matt Driver and not Ben Solo.

“Hi, Rey. How are you?”

“I’m good. Just tired. I have this thing that was supposed to be a collab between me and my coworker Ben Solo, but then he just, like, randomly quit his job. And it’s a really hard project, so no one is willing to do it with me. God, I hate him so much…”

“I’m sorry. Do you want to talk about it?”

“Actually, I kind of do. I’m sorry if I get angry during this, it’s just that he elicits that kind of reaction in me. You don’t, don’t worry.”

Inwardly, Ben winced. He was about to listen to Rey vent to him about... _him._

“Even before he quit,” she began, intense anger already evident in the curves of her face, “he was _such an asshole_ to me. Always criticizing me, always being wrong and pretending he wasn’t. And now he’s _gone,_ just before we have to finish this huge thing, and I’m already overworked, and now I’m even _more_ overworked, and just... _Ugh!_ ”

Suddenly, she stopped. “I’m sorry, Matt. I’m shoving all of my emotional problems onto you, and I haven’t even asked you how _you’re_ doing.”

“I’m doing fine. Not much going on on the job. And it’s okay, really. I’ve been told that I’m good at helping people with their emotions.”

Not true. In fact, Ben had often been told the opposite. Just another strand in his web of lies.

Rey smiled. “I can tell. Well, I’ve got to get back to work. See you at lunch?”

“Wait. I can help you with your project thing or whatever it is.”

“Are you sure? I mean, I know you have your own job, and…”

“It’s fine. I already, uh, finished my work for today. I might not understand it, but I can try to help. If it’s fine with you, of course.”

“Oh, okay. Well, if you want to help me, feel free. Do you want to just peer over my shoulder and give me advice or something?”

“I brought my laptop, actually. If you have Google Docs, you can share it with me or something.”

Actually, when he had been at home, Ben had gone through the trouble of creating a completely separate email account for his false identity, and he had configured everything on his laptop for it to be under “Matt Driver” and not “Ben Solo.” Maybe it was a little paranoid, but he didn’t care. It was coming in handy now.

Rey was already ready with the Google Doc that contained the important information and had it open to the “Share” link.

“All right. Just type your email in here, and then it’ll be shared with you.”

The clacking of keys, and the typing of _mdriver585@gmail.com._ And then, the project that he had spent months working on was on his laptop, and he was looking at it - and his ex-partner - with fresh eyes.

“Let’s do this.”

 

The duo spent the rest of the day on the project, Ben trying his hardest to pretend that he didn’t know anything about it, and as a result allowing Rey to lead it more than he had ever had when it was actually his job. Rey seemed happy by this sudden development, even complaining about how “Ben Solo used to _never_ listen to my opinions. It was just him, and him, and nothing but him in this project. It was _annoying._ ”

Ben stared at his laptop screen, fingers hovering over the keyboard and his newest idea, seeing himself and his interactions with his coworker in a completely different light. He had never truly realized how much he had stifled her, and even though she had told him every day, how much of a piece of shit he had truly been. And with every fibre of his being, he longed to rip off the scratchy blonde wig that he was keeping on, rip it off along with fake glasses and his shitty technician costume - wait, no, that would be disturbing - and apologize to her, tell her that he would try his hardest to not be like that anymore.

She would be creeped out and angry, though, and the fragile little thing that they had been building would shatter like glass. He didn’t want that.

When it was time for both of them to go home, Rey hugged him tightly, standing on her tiptoes so she could put her head on his shoulder. And as Ben sat on the subway, the memory of that hug was what made him cry into his knees.

 

Days passed like this, then weeks, then months, with happiness and friendship instead of anger and enmity. And one day, while Rey and Ben were sitting together and working on the project, Ben realized that she, for some reason, was worried.

“What is it?” he asked her.

“What is what?”

“You seem worried.”

“How could you tell?”

“I don’t know, you just seemed worried. I’m sorry if this is weird, but…”

“Oh, no, it’s fine! I’m just worried about Ben Solo. I haven’t seen him anywhere in the places where he usually goes. He didn’t tell anyone that he was moving or anything, and somehow, with him I doubt it.”

Ben’s eyes widened in shock, but he quickly brought them back to normal before she noticed.

“That really _is_ weird,” he said. And it was.

First of all, he was _really_ not doing well with this whole “secret identity” thing. He had holed himself up in his apartment out of nervousness, whereas if he had been smart, he would have gone out under his true identity. But second of all, and perhaps most importantly, _Rey was worried about him._

Not “him” as in Matt Driver, her friend. “Him” as in Ben Solo, her sworn enemy.

Or maybe not quite. Maybe if he kept this up just a little, the time to reveal would come soon.

 

“I don’t think he moved. I saw him at the bar last night. Just a little glimpse. But I’m pretty sure it was him. Matt, I’m not going insane, am I?”

“He was at the park this weekend, walking with a girl. Not that I care who he was walking with, of course. But she looked about his age, and she was a bit shorter than me. Very pretty, too. She seemed smart. And funny. And loyal. And...I think I _am_ going insane.”

“Matt, I don’t think I hate Ben. I was thinking about it last night, and I see his side of things now. I _did_ antagonize him as much as he antagonized me. And I think I _was_ a bit nitpicky about things, just like he said I was. I mean, he did bad things, too, but so did I. Neither of us are perfect in this situation. I wish I could talk to him and say that.”

“Matt, I think I’m in love.”

“Who with?” Ben asked, fiddling with his pen to try and hide his nervousness.

“Ben Solo. Yes, yes, _I know,_ I’m going insane, but I think I am. He’s cute and smart and funny, and we complement each other well. I haven’t seen him for forever, otherwise I would tell him that now - _Wait._ Matt. Why is there a tiny little flash of black under your hair?”

"What?"

Ben's hand reached up to his hair to feel what it was, but even before he _knew,_ he knew.

His wig was slipping off. And with it was slipping the identity of Matt Driver.

"Take off your glasses, Matt," Rey commanded suddenly, choking back a clearly visible lump in her throat.

"What? Why?"

But he knew why, he knew it and she knew it, and neither of them were willing to pretend not to anymore.

"Just do it, Matt. Please."

Ben took them of, and with them his wig, and then he looked into her brown eyes, watching puddles form on their insides, threatening to spill at her slightest motion.

"Benjamin Solo. Did you really think I wouldn't find out?"

"Ben isn't short for Benjamin," Ben couldn't help but point out. "It isn't short for anything. It's just Ben."

" _I DON'T CARE!_ " she burst out, prompting frustrated glances from the other office workers. "You _lied_ to me, you _lied_ to me, you literally dressed up as a _different person_ to get close to me, and now you expect me to care about the semantics of your _name?_ "

She was crying now, face scrunched up, and her hands were balls of fury by her side. She was hiding her sadness behind anger, he knew, though she felt both emotions equally as strong.

He knew her so well. He shouldn't have known her as well as he did.

"Jesus fuck," she whispered. "You were my friend, I told you about everything, I told you about _you..._ "

Suddenly she snapped again.

" _Get out!_ " she shrieked. " _Get out, and don't let me see you again! Or I'll-_ "

A pause to breathe. And then, something close to calm.

"I'll kill you," Rey whispered, balling her hands into fists once more. "I swear to God, if I see you again, I'll kill you."

 

_Rey,_

_I'm sorry. That's all I can really say. I'm sorry for lying to you, I'm sorry for pushing you into a friendship under false pretenses, I'm sorry for making you worry and think I'm a different person and be in emotional distress and everything._

_I have justification. I have honest statements about how my personality has genuinely changed because of being your friend. I have things to tell you and things to say and everything in the world but the apology I have given, but I know you don't want to hear it._

_So that's all I'm saying. I'm genuinely sorry. And if you can't forgive me, I understand._

_Ben Solo_

 

Ben got a new job at a neighboring business fairly easily, mainly because Mr. Snoke had left a stellar review of his work ethic and his ability to be a good leader and role model among his coworkers. And for another couple of months, he didn't see Rey again.

Until he did.

It was a little after Valentine's Day, and there was a light show in the city park to celebrate love and beauty. Rey would love it, and she would probably go with eagerness, but Ben wasn't going to let that stop him.

The lights illuminated the darkness, shining brightly onto the glowing faces of the many people who decided to attend. These many people included both Ben and Rey, who stood next to each other without speaking as they stared at a particularly captivating exhibit involving pink lights in the shape of hearts.

Neither of them spoke, but neither of them moved. They were not on the negotiating ground, nor were they on the battlefield. They were on a sort of neutral ground, war going on around them, but they themselves paid it no mind. At least not for now.

Then Rey spoke.

"Hello."

A single word, but one that for both of them carried worlds of meaning.

"Hello," Ben said back.

"Lovely show, isn't it?"

"It really is. Very beautiful."

More silence. Ben himself didn't know where Rey had drawn the line, and he didn't want to accidentally cross it. He had had his experience with dancing on boundaries already.

"I got your email. It was sent from your Ben Solo account, not your Matt Driver one. I noticed that."

Ben nodded. "I deleted that account after I left the office. I was that ashamed of it. This probably isn't going to make a difference, but that's what I did."

"Thank you. That really means a lot to me. And do you want to know what else I'm noticing right now?"

"What?"

"You're not trying to fight me. You're admitting that you did a bad thing, and you're not trying to justify yourself. Thank you for that."

"Of course."

"But I just want to know...why? Why did you do that? I'm not attacking you, I just want to know."

"Because we've fought so much. From the moment we met, we fought. Every time we saw each other, we fought. Our relationship has been fighting and fighting and fighting, and I just wanted to break that cycle. I thought we could be a good team if we just set aside our differences and worked together, maybe even became friends. I obviously went the wrong way about it, but that was what was on my mind."

A pause, during which neither of them spoke. And then, Ben realized that there was something else that needed to be said.

"And I was in love with you, too," he said, body shaking with every word. "I know that's a shitty justification, but I didn't want to be your enemy anymore. I just wanted to be your friend. At least. And once again, I did a shitty thing, and I understand if you don't forgive me, but I'm genuinely sorry, and I regret it all."

His arms were crossed; Rey tapped his elbow, and he released them, and then she slipped her hand into one of his. And then, she spoke three words that changed his life forever.

"I forgive you."

They turned around by some sort of mutual agreement, and then Ben knelt down and Rey stood on her tiptoes, and their lips locked, arms wrapped around each other's bodies and pulling each other closer, closer, closer. Rey hummed ever-so-slightly with pleasure, and Ben's hands found themselves running up her back and through her hair, and although neither of them smiled or said a word, they understood mutually what the other meant.

The applause of the other guests at the park surrounded them, but in that moment, neither of them cared about anything. Because they were at last together, at last not fighting, and that feeling was more important than anything else that could possibly be real.


End file.
